Has anyone tried running Donjon in children's fantasy books? Like, say, The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? These books are sometimes pretty surreal, and I often get the impression that the authors, like a player in Donjon, contrive facts about the world as needed.
There is, of course, no obsession with treasure hoards, subterranean perils, or slaying monsters which Donjon seems to assume... but maybe it would work anyway?
I'd be tempted to run something like this sometime, just as a break from "gamer fantasy worlds."
I don't think it would work.
Donjon is ABOUT meeting dangerous creatures, killing them, and taking their stuff.
Nah, surely that's just the "core story" or whatever? Mechanically, Donjon is about facing a preposterous situation, coming up with a half-assed plan, throwing a ton of dice on the table, and then twisting reality accordingly. Combat with weirdo monsters just happens to be a high-stakes special case of the preposterous situation... though with the "smash PC's to kill them" rule, it's not really high-stakes anymore.
I mean, yeah, Donjon is an homage to the glorious old-timey D&D dungeon crawl thing... but from what I gather all those old-timey modules had the same kind of perverse illogic associated with those stories.
It would certainly involve changing the assumed focus of the game, but maybe it could handle it.
Besides, it would be fun to smite Flying Monkeys, and whoever those guys with wheels on their hands were in the weird sequel.
Sure, that would work fine.
Just change it so when a creature is "defeated" (by way of an underwater tea party, of course) the players get to decide if the creature will be Back for Revenge, or Become Their Friend. Those seem to be the two possible outcomes to conflicts in those stories.
Until the climax, of course. Then people get melted and/or crucified. Eeek.